The Mayor (2017)

EndedTuesday / 9:30pmABC (US)25 min.

Young rapper Courtney Rose needs his big break. For years he’s toiled away in a small inner-city apartment, making music in his junk-filled bedroom closet. Tired of waiting for opportunity, Courtney cooks up the publicity stunt of the century – running for mayor of his hometown in California to generate buzz for his music career. Unfortunately for Courtney, his master plan goes wildly awry, ending in the most terrifying of outcomes: an election victory. With the help of his mother and friends, including Valentina, Courtney will have to overcome his hubris if he wants to transform the struggling city he loves.

When a mysterious package is found at City Hall, everyone is ordered to stay inside but tensions rise after Courtney discovers his team hasn’t been completely honest with him that culminates in a rap battle between Courtney and Jermaine. Meanwhile, Dina sets out to make Ed Gunt open up about himself during the lockdown which leads to a surprising result.

As Courtney focuses on a campaign to spend more of Fort Grey’s budget on senior citizens, a rival movement led by Ed Gunt makes the townspeople question Courtney’s trustworthiness. When Dina appears on a talk show to help turn the public’s opinion back in Courtney’s favor, she makes a surprising comment that creates an awkward tension between the two.

After visiting a homeless shelter on Christmas Eve, Courtney realizes things for the needy could be improved and pledges to make it a joyous Christmas that every family deserves. But when he learns he doesn’t have the budget to deliver on his promise, Courtney loses hope and his holiday spirit which leads to a magical “It’s A Wonderful Life” moment that makes him realize he has the gift needed to pull off a Christmas miracle.

After Courtney and his crew discover the historic music venue in Fort Grey, Tito’s Ballroom, is closing down for good due to increased rent costs, he attempts to save the club by sponsoring a music festival and enlists Bay Area rap legend E-40 to headline the event. However, Ed Gunt opposes keeping Tito’s open which leads Courtney to an unexpected way of winning him over. Meanwhile, Dina agrees to become choir director and realizes her teaching style might be preventing her group from singing in perfect harmony.

As the mayor’s office plans a tour for the governor of California’s official visit to Fort Grey, an old rap video of Courtney resurfaces that puts potential funding for their city in jeopardy, leaving Courtney and his staff to make a decision to stay true to himself or issue an apology. Meanwhile, Dina finds herself in an unwanted competition with her friend Krystal.

After going on a date with an old flame with ulterior motives, Courtney realizes that hidden agendas also apply to dating now that he’s a public figure; now he will need T.K. and Jermaine’s help to recreate a throwback prom-posal to hopefully get a second chance with someone he truly likes. Meanwhile, Reverend Ocho Okoye tries to get a hesitant Dina to join the church choir which leads to a soulful result

When Fort Grey’s public transportation comes to a crippling halt due to the bus driver’s union strike, Courtney also finds himself striking out when he’s outmatched by Amber, the fierce Transit Union lawyer who makes him realize he’ll need more than his charm and Val’s advice to reach a new deal. T.K. and Jermaine attempt to solve the issue by employing a focus group which quickly turns unruly. Meanwhile, Dina and her two best friends are excited about their annual tradition of taking a sick day to pamper themselves, but their plans get derailed by an unforeseen chain of events.

As Halloween approaches, Mayor Courtney Rose and Police Chief Fox find themselves at odds on how to handle the community’s first annual spook-tacular celebration at City Hall. During the night of the bash, it dawns on Courtney that throwing a party to keep kids safe doesn’t address the bigger issues in Fort Grey and plans to work with Chief Fox going forward. Meanwhile, Dina gets into the spirit by dressing up as Congresswoman Maxine Waters, while Jermaine and T.K. set out to prank Val who has the last laugh when she outsmarts the guys at their own game.

As Courtney settles into his new role as mayor, he’s faced with a dismal approval rating as the citizens of Fort Grey express their lack of confidence in his ability to lead, as well as those on his own staff. He realizes that he needs to take an unconventional approach when dealing with Councilman Ed Gunt and comes up with a plan to quickly turn public opinion in his favor.

Courtney makes his first mayoral appearance at his old elementary school and discovers that their music program, which helped changed his life, is in danger of being eliminated. Val educates Courtney about how he needs to “work the system” in order to provide the school with appropriate funding, and they work together to outsmart Councilman Ed Gunt. Meanwhile, Jermaine proudly embraces his new role as communications director, as Dina pushes T.K. to realize the significance of his job as director of Constituent Services.

Young rapper Courtney Rose needs his big break. For years, he’s toiled away in a small inner-city apartment, making music in his junk-filled bedroom closet. Tired of waiting for an opportunity to knock, Courtney cooks up the publicity stunt of the century – running for mayor of his California hometown, Fort Grey, to generate buzz for his music career. But his master plan goes wildly awry, ending in the most terrifying of outcomes: an election victory.